December 7, 2010

The perfect holiday gift! Reservations and gift certificates are now available for our Valentine's event. Seating is limited! Call 415.971.8655 or email reservations@thephoenixsupperclub.com for more information.

November 27, 2010

So..what have we been doing these past few months? So many things...well, for one, we started a full on event planning and catering department! After experiencing the caliber of professionalism at our underground restaurants and witnessing the logistical challenges that we overcome in order to pull these events off at such a high level, many have contacted us to inquire about our availability to do private events. We have been occupying our time with weddings, corporate events and private dinner parties of various sizes. We are currently overhauling our website to reflect this recent development. But don't worry, our underground restaurants aren't going anywhere! As I write this, our Valentine's Day Event is in the planning stages and we will be releasing reservation times within the next week as well as making gift certificates available for purchase! Stay tuned...

November 22, 2010

It's definitely been a while since we've posted much on the blog, we've just been too busy! Over the course of the next few weeks, we'll be posting some of the things that we've been up to and release some dates for events that are happening soon! Stay tuned...

March 30, 2010

It could be the best one-night stand you ever had. In today’s economy, enterprising chefs are reinventing the restaurant experience with out-of-the-box options for dining out. Some borrow the kitchens of established restaurants or private homes—or even bring the kitchen to local ranches, vineyards and farms—for a single evening of atmospheric cuisine. Called a pop-up restaurant, it’s part underground supper club and part gastronomical vagary, and it’s become the reservation to get.

The foodie cognoscenti are already avidly following the pop-up Phoenix Supper Club, a menu of movable feasts cooked up by 28-year-old San Francisco chef Tommy Halvorson (formerly of Gary Danko and Bix). The ex-competitive skier isn’t just testing the waters with his roving restaurant concept; he’s quietly producing one of the Bay Area’s most exciting evenings out.

Perhaps best known of his gypsy dinners is the nine-course Loretto. The club’s most lavish offering at $200 a person including tax and gratuity, Loretto is held at a different unusual private residence each Saturday night. After securing a reservation, a guest is given directions to an initial meeting point. One recent evening the spot was J Lounge, the bar inside Traci Des Jardins’s California-French restaurant Jardinière. Patrons were greeted and served champagne, but still weren’t told that night’s dinner location. After small talk with fellow guests, they were whisked by limousine to one of San Francisco’s most storied private residences, the Westerfeld House.

The 28-room late-1800s mansion, referred to as a “freaking decayed giant” in Tom Wolfe’s Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and formerly occupied by both a wealthy Czarist refugee from the Russian revolution and a member of the Manson family, isn’t open to the public. But on this night, one of the current housemates gave guests insightful tours (and told ghost stories) as Halvorson overlooked the confines of the Gothic manse’s small kitchen to delicately plate a lobster and yuzu confit with melted baby leeks, braised pork chops with compressed heirloom apples and a cast-iron seared Kobe bavette with roasted black trumpet mushrooms. The unfamiliar space didn’t cramp the chef’s style; throughout the four-hour dinner, each orchestrated bite was better than the last.

“When the economy took a nosedive last year, I guess you could say it would be really hard to get funding for an actual restaurant,” Halvorson says. “Instead of waiting I thought, well, why don’t I adapt to the way things are, and try and make it happen.”

San Rafael chef Leslie Burnside already has a restaurant—which she now adapts to make others happen. The owner of the breakfast-and-lunch spot Theresa and Johnny’s Comfort Food has started holding a rotating-chef event called Night Kitchen at least once a month after her own restaurant closes for the day. “There should be something going on here at night,” she told herself. “I’m tired of (just) cooking breakfast food, so let’s try this.”

Each time, she has a different guest chef prepare a different type of cuisine, offering a menu of dishes under $12 on a first-come-first-served basis (she’ll head up the kitchen if no one else is available). She donates the profits to a local charity or group; recipients have included Ritter House, Hospice by the Bay and Terra Linda High School. A recent Night Kitchen featured chef John Scopazzi, who turned out small plates of roasted salmon cakes with caramelized shallots ($10), veal saltimbocca with prosciutto and sage ($12) and a walnut tart with bitter chocolate ($6).

For Burnside, flexibility is the venture’s big attraction, along with having the chance to explore new dishes and give back to the community while doing what she loves. “I’ve been in this business a really long time,” she reflects. “I don’t get to stretch my cooking skills doing what I do. At Night Kitchen I try to do something I’ve never made. I’m crazy: I have 150 people in for dinner and I’ve never cooked any of it before.”

For diners, she says, the ritual is straightforward: “You sit down, here’s the menu, order. If you want to reorder, reorder. The dishes come out fast and in no particular order, the lights are low, the music is loud. There’s a whole lot of energy that goes into it. I push it as far as I can, being in the suburbs.”

Moving beyond the suburbs is par for the pop-up Outstanding in the Field. Founder and acclaimed artist Jim Denevan began staging his dinners at organic farms in 1999. The idea was simple: dine at the source, where the meal you’re eating began, with the people who grew and produced it—getting to know who’s behind what’s on your plate.

Denevan brings his bus, aptly named Outstanding, to fields, vineyards and ranches nationwide to reconnect diners with the roots of their food. He matches a top-flight chef with a farmer and a winemaker to create a one-night-only restaurant without walls. “We like putting the spotlight on the farmers as well as the star chefs,” says Denevan. “It’s not every day you get to enjoy a meal with the person who planted the beans, raised the lamb, and shaped the cheese on your plate.”

Each Outstanding outing has a utopian feel, starting with a leisurely tour of the hosting farm followed by a five-course farm-style feast at Denevan’s signature long table set in just the right scenic spot. Diners sit shoulder to shoulder with the food growers and producers, the winemaker and other artisans behind the meal. The $200 admission makes it possible to include all workers involved—giving everyone a seat at the table.

February 18, 2010

Lung Shan is an unremarkable Chinese restaurant in the Mission District. But on Thursday and Saturday nights it’s rocked by an invasion of diners and chefs with much more than sweet and sour pork on their minds.

Each week, a different guest chef is pressed into service to feed the horde in the kitschily downscale dining room at Lung Shan.

On those nights, Lung Shan becomes Mission Street Food, one of a number of pop-up restaurants that have opened in the Bay Area over the last couple of years in spaces not normally used for fine dining.

On a recent Thursday, Tommy Halvorson, the chef that night, ignored Lung Shan’s huge woks as he worked pans crammed onto its small stove. Behind him, Anthony Myint assembled sea urchin into sashimi with young coconut and candied pecans ($8).

Mr. Myint is the impresario behind Mission Street Food (2234 Mission Street near 18th Street, missionstreetfood.com). Each week he presses a different guest chef into service to feed the horde in the kitschily downscale dining room.

“The food here is creative and interesting,” said Nick Lanham, a graduate student dining at a big table of friends. “They go a little bit further. They can try out crazy stuff here.”

That night, Mr. Myint featured small plates of chicken-fried beef jerky ($7), and Mr. Halvorson made gnocchi with Himalayan truffles ($8).

By taking advantage of underused kitchens, pop-ups allow young chefs, many with experience in San Francisco’s most highly regarded restaurants, to experiment without the risk of bankruptcy. And unlike underground supper clubs, they’re completely legal.

“We just started with our own money,” said Mark Bright, a sommelier who, along with the chef Joshua Skenes, runs Saison, a Friday through Sunday restaurant that operates out of a commercial kitchen behind Stable Café on Folsom Street (2124 Folsom Street near 17th Street, (415) 828-7990, saisonsf.com, reservations required). They started within two weeks of finding the space last July.

“Even in this economic climate people are really out there trying to make things happen,” said Mr. Halvorson, who also runs a pop-up called EAT on Monday at 111 Minna, a SOMA art gallery (111 Minna Street at Second Street, (415) 375-2321, eatat111minna.blogspot.com). “Instead of crying because the bank won’t give me $2 million to open a restaurant,” he said, “this is a way I can do it.”

The most venerable of the lot might be Radio Africa & Kitchen, operated Thursday and Friday nights at Coffee Bar, a stylish cafe in the Mission (1890 Bryant Street at the corner of Florida and Mariposa Streets, (415) 420-2486, radioafricakitchen.com). Eskender Aseged has been cooking what he calls “Red Sea meets Mediterranean” for small gatherings since he came to the United States from his native Ethiopia more than two decades ago. When Coffee Bar opened three years ago, the owner invited Mr. Aseged to open Radio Africa & Kitchen there. (Coffee Bar also hosts another, more sporadic pop-up called Jet Set Chef — thejetsetchef.com.)

Mr. Aseged hopes one day to open his own restaurant, but he is in no hurry. A recent menu featured Tanzanian-style octopus ($18) and roasted leg of lamb with berbere sauce ($18).

A more casual pop-up is Pal’s Takeaway, a counter inside a corner store that offers a few carefully considered sandwiches each day for lunch. Though it is invisible from the street, Pal’s consistently draws crowds for things like five-spice roasted chicken sandwiches ($8) and homemade pickled vegetables ($4). (Inside Tony’s Market, 2751 24th Street at Hampshire Street, (415) 203-4911, palstakeaway.com)

Flexibility keeps these chefs loyal to the pop-up concept. Mr.Myint says his primary motivation is to use food to raise money for various causes. Thus far, Mission Street Food has had more than 60 guest chefs and, in 2009, contributed $22,000 to charities.

Last year Mr. Myint, whose brawny hands are covered in the burns and scars of his six years as a cook, also started Mission Burger, which serves juicy, sloppy burgers from the grill at Duc Loi, a Vietnamese supermarket ($8, which includes a dollar for charity, 2200 Mission Street at 18th Street, (415) 551-1772). Now he works seven days a week.

At Saison, Mr. Skenes wanted to be able to riff on each week’s best available ingredients, which means spending Mondays and Tuesdays calling farmers and suppliers and combing markets, then creating a seven- to eight-course prix fixe menu ($80, plus $50 for wine). Recent menu items include poularde in almond milk and flights of fish with hojiblanca olive oil. He also serves a $180 10- to 12-course meal (plus $60 for wine) for two or four people each night at the chef’s table, nestled in the center of the action between the stoves and the walk-in freezer.

For his part, Mr. Myint is exploring a permanent restaurant, but he is seeking money in a manner true to the scrappy pop-up ethos: at the start of the month he announced on his blog that he’s looking for 100 people to invest $500 each. “There has been kind of a lot of response,” he said.

February 10, 2010

The Phoenix Supper Club presents a special five-course event on Saturday, February 20th.

Intrigue defines the moment as you arrive at Mephisto, where fluid sounds envelop the atmosphere and sharply dressed servers expertly pour wine for this five-course dining experience. Make a reservation and prior to the evening you will receive a message revealing the address of Mephisto.

The price is $115 per person (tax and gratuity not included).

Please email reservations@thephoenixsupperclub or call (415)971-1413 to reserve a table.

February 2, 2010

"On the Rise: The Phoenix Supper Club's Tommy Halvorson has redefined the recipe for success.

Start with a wish-list tasting menu. Toss in one charming world-class chef. Add an elegant secret location. Mix with a chauffeured limousine, free-flowing champagne, and you’ve just made a must-have recipe for Saturday night. The concept behind The Phoenix Supper Club (PSC) belongs to one Tommy Halvorson. At just 28, he is the Executive Chef-Founder of San Francisco’s latest food craze. In a city that prides itself on knowing a thing or two about food, this is no small accomplishment for a former competitive skier from Kentucky with a Philosophy degree from UC Berkeley. “I decided it was time to start using my brain as opposed to just landing on it,” jokes Halvorson, who took the economy’s temperature and found an interesting way to adapt to the times (and save himself 80 hours a week in a kitchen or exorbitant restaurant start-up costs). “We want to give more of an experience, more than just going out to eat,” he explains of the concept.

Launched in late 2009, this is one supper club on the move. So far, it has popped up at a refined mansion in Pacific Heights, a bustling gallery downtown, and even at the Westerfeld House in the city’s historic Alamo Square district, and which might ring a bell by the names of those who have slept under its 1889 roof (think Janis Joplin). But on one recent chilly San Francisco night, the house lived up to the Phoenix Supper Club’s name, transforming from a local Victorian relic into an intimate bistro tucked away on top of the city. “It’s what we do,” Halvorson says. “We blow this up into something and we burn it down and build it up somewhere else.” On this particular night, that something equated to Loretto, the club’s 9- course wine-paired tasting menu inspired by the streetlights, wood floors, and live jazz of a modern-day speakeasy (starting at $220 per person). PSC also features Mephisto, a 5-course wine paired tasting menu that pops up at an edgy SOMA location and features like-minded entertainment, from a silent film to a trapeze artist in full swing (starting at $120 per person). “It’s a full sensory experience all centered around the food,” Halvorson explains.

Rest assured, this is not your mother’s dinner theater.No matter your culinary fancy, both events end with the feeling that you can’t wait to tell your friends and return to be surprised all over again. In between, the food speaks for Halvorson, who earned his own chops at Bix, Gary Danko, and Chez Panisse, as well as on the catering circuit. As the sous chef at Bix, Halvorson learned about restaurant management, food styles, and the magic of simple dishes and fresh produce. “The food has to fit the space,” he says of the lessons he’s gathered from the local culinary culture. “In a 1940’s jazz supper club you can’t do wild Asian fusion because it doesn’t fit. That was a really valuable lesson. Every space I go to I make sure the food we serve fits the overall aesthetic of the mood we’re creating.”

January 29, 2010

Valentine’s Day. Every year you know it’s coming. And somehow every year you’re scrambling to plan something unique, a night that exceeds the former.

Well, this year The Phoenix Supper Club presents our first annual Valentine’s weekend. Our February 14th event is sold out. But we do have tickets left to our Saturday night, February 13th event. Yes, we’re serving nine, wine-paired course.

The night will commence with champagne when you arrive at your first location. Unaware of where the night will take you, we’ll whisk you away in a limo to an undisclosed place. When you finally arrive, you’ll find yourself in a transformed space, where servers are dressed impeccably and live jazz plays in the background.

Not your typical Saturday night out. This evening will definitely leave an imprint. Please email, reservations@thephoenixsupperclub.com or call (415)971-1413 to make a reservation.

Last night at Mission Street Food, proved to be a huge success. The restaurant was packed all evening long and no one could get enough of that delicious parisienne gnocchi or maple glazed pork belly.

What a novel idea? Bringing in great chefs to put their flare on modern-day street food. And giving a portion of the proceeds to organizations in need, genius.

I would definitely urge all of you to be apart of this brilliance. Not only for the scrumptious grub but also for the friendly prices. Where else can you try everything on the menu and get out for 20 bucks a head?

January 26, 2010

Mission Street Food, you may have heard of it. Or maybe you’ve even seen that colossal line on Thursday nights outside of a tiny Chinese restaurant on Mission Street. Well Lung Shan, is it’s name and the base camp for this bi-weekly event. Every Thursday and Saturday night, guest chefs present their original items for a friendly price. Better yet, a portion of the proceeds go to non-profits.

This week, January 28th, Tommy Halvorson, the Executive Chef of The Phoenix Supper Club will be showcasing some of his “Simple and Wintery” dishes. Some of the proceeds will benefit 826 Valencia, which supports students ages 6-18 to develop their writing skills and assists teachers in getting students exciting about writing.

Furthermore, MSF will be donating some of their proceeds to Meals on Wheels, which helps seniors get nutritious meals.

January 22, 2010

Let us further warn you that if you have not made a reservation for the evening, the time is now. But don't worry, we've made the choice of romantic dinners incredibly easy, by finding the best one. Maybe ever.

The recently launched Phoenix Supperclub takes romance and intrigue to a whole new level. The night of your reservation, you and your guest will be picked up by limo and delivered at a secret San Francisco location. So secret, in fact, that you don't know where you're going until you arrive.

What you can know is that the nine course, wine-paired meal prepared by Tommy Halvorson (of Bix, Gary Danko, and Chez Panisse... now that's a resume) will be immaculate and delicious.

Robin Rinaldi of 7x7 attended recently and really whet our appetites, saying that said location "might be a modern gallery or rambling mansion. ... Dinner takes hours, and you will leave heavily buzzed, if not happily drunk." Wow. Her entire experience is mouthwatering, and well worth reading.

The supperclub happens every Saturday, but we think their special Valentine's weekend dinner is just too good to pass up. And they're taking reservations now. Get on it.

January 20, 2010

If you’re tired of the same old SF restaurant grind—last week Flour + Water, this week Barbacco, next week Frances—you might want to try something a little different and go underground. For upwards of $200 per person, the newly launched Phoenix Supperclub, a “roaming restaurant” created by chef Tommy Halvorson (of Bix ,Gary Danko, Chez Panisse), will whisk you up in a limo, deliver you to a “secret San Francisco location” that might be a modern gallery or rambling mansion, and serve you nine langorous, wine-paired courses. You won’t know where you’re going until you arrive.

On a recent Saturday night, the supperclub hosts instructed me to arrive at Jardiniere’s lounge for a cocktail at 7pm. Soon a limo arrived and drove several Supperclub patrons to a mansion overlooking Alamo Square, where the first floor had been transformed into a speakeasy. A live jazz combo crooned away as we were served course after course of Halvorson’s classic dishes—think olive oil-poached Kobe beef with a morel sformato, pan-seared scallops with grapefruit and braised escarole, and pain perdu for dessert. Dinner takes hours, and you will leave heavily buzzed, if not happily drunk. Luckily you won’t need to drive home; the limo awaits you. The Supperclub happens every Saturday, and is taking reservations now for Valentine’s Day. Given how much the element of surprise tends to help induce romance, I’d recommend it.

January 18, 2010

The Phoenix Supper Club presents a special event over Valentine’s weekend. Saturday, February 13th, we’re serving nine, wine-paired courses.

The night will commence with champagne when you arrive at your first location. Unaware of where the night will take you, we’ll whisk you away in a limo to an undisclosed place. When you finally arrive, you’ll find yourself in a transformed space, where servers are dressed impeccably and live jazz plays in the background.

This is the perfect evening to spend with your loved one or for a group looking to celebrate together. Please email, reservations@thephoenixsupperclub.com or call (415) 971-1413 to make a reservation.

January 17, 2010

The Phoenix Supper Club not only brings you fine dining, with five to nine, wine paired courses held at secret locations. Now, we’re also tapping into tapas-style street food at EAT at 111 Minna every Monday night. Executive Chef of The Phoenix Supper Club, Tommy Halvorson, puts together a delicious, price friendly menu while music journalist Crystal S. Yang, books upcoming DJs to set the mood.

For those of you who haven’t been to 111 Minna, imagine contemporary art gallery meets local bar. Come in anytime between 5pm and 10pm and we’ll serve up some delicious food from $3 to $9. No cover charge and the food is cash only. Keep up with the blog if you’re interested, the menu and live music are always changing. http://eatat111minna.blogspot.com/

January 13, 2010

Thank you for checking out The Phoenix Supper Club blog as our website is going through some construction. We’re in the midst of an image overhaul and our revised site should be up and running by the beginning of February. Until then, please check out the blog for upcoming events and additional information. If you have any added questions or would like to place a reservation please call us at (415) 971-1413 or email lauren@thephoenixsupperclub.com.

January 12, 2010

After retiring from a short career in competitive freeskiing, Tommy moved to San Francisco to finish his formal education and further explore his passion for cooking. He since graduated from UC Berkeley and has gained valuable experience in some of the best kitchens in the bay area including Eccolo, Adagia, Gary Danko, and Chez Panisse. He also had the privilege of being Bruce Hill’s sous chef at Bix as well as Tom Rippy’s sous at Betty Zlatchin Catering. Tommy has now ventured to create The Phoenix Supper Club that, he feels, draws on all of his past experience and represents the best elements of San Francisco food culture.

January 11, 2010

Yes, one of the most “in the know” publications, Urban Daddy, has good things to say about PSC. They write about cutting-edge trends in metropolitan areas and according to them we’re “The Latest in Underground Supperclubs.”

If you’d like to check it out, click on the following click to their article,

January 10, 2010

Meet at a corner disclosed when making a reservation to Phoenix Supper Club’s Loretto dinner. A limo awaits with champagne and about 10 other guests all guessing where you’ll be dining. October 24, the first Loretto dinner, brought us to historical Haas-Lilienthal House/Museum, where we were ushered to candlelit tables and entertained by live jazz from lovely vocalist, Sabrina Modelle, with pianist.

A nine course meal (each course paired with wines) follows from Chef Tommy Halvorson, creating delicious, delicate (but never fussy) dishes covering all food groups from vegetables to fish to a range of meats, portioned small enough to leave room, though I was heartily full by the end.

The Renaissance Man and I savored a romantic hour at our own table initially, but we’d made friends in the limo and talking across our neighboring tables, felt the evening begged for a communal aspect. We asked to have our tables moved together halfway through the meal when the evening turned into festive dinner party. Eventually more tables and guests intermingled, an ideal trajectory for the evening (and maybe future dinners?) to take. With three seatings of 10 or so people arriving every half hour, the gathering grew, while remaining intimate.

With each dinner different in location and menu, Loretto comes at a high cost ($220!) But it’s fine dining plus, with points for romance, intrigue and surprise… a one-of-a-kind birthday or anniversary dinner. If the communal aspect is encouraged, it can also operate as a unique dinner party.

In a sea of pop-up dinners and supperclubs these days, the concept of classy, comfortable speakeasy dining with live jazz is one that actually excites me. At about half the price, there’s also Mephisto, a five course dinner series with speakeasy surprise locales (minus a limo), so choices abound. The next Loretto dinner is this Saturday, 11/21.

Contact Us

If you'd like more information about The Phoenix Supper Club, please email info@thephoenixsupperclub.com or call 415.282.8200.

About PSC

From underground restaurants that create a truly unique, cutting edge, sensory dining experience to our first class private dining services that will turn your perfect vision into a reality, The Phoenix Supper Club offers limitless possibilities.

Our Food

At The Phoenix Supper Club, our cuisine is inspired by local and sustainable ingredients that shine on the plate without too much manipulation. Our menus reflect our philosophy to blend the finest ingredients with simple techniques in an effort to achieve a refined product.

Private Dining

Private Dining with The Phoenix Supper Club offers the exquisite cuisine and exceptional hospitality that we are quickly becoming known for. For more information, please give us a call at 415.282.8200 or email info@thephoenixsupperclub.com.